In our liturgical calendar, Lent stands out as a period of profound seeking. Through our practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, we seek to be more closely aligned with the path God has set for us. Importantly, we are called to go about this seeking in quiet, as prescribed by Christ in the Ash Wednesday Gospel (Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18). In light of this call to introspection and humble sacrifice, we often associate Lent with the themes of discipline and self-denial. Why, then, is “glory” so prominent in today’s Scripture readings? What does glory have to do with Lent, and why should we seek it?

Before reading today’s passages, I had always associated glory with earthly conquest. Throughout my years of Catholic education, I learned that glory is something to shun in this world and instead reserve for God’s Kingdom. From this perspective, it makes sense that for most Sunday Masses, we follow the Penitential Act, during which we confess our sins before God, with the Gloria, during which we join the heavenly host in singing God’s praises and glorifying Him.

Today’s readings complicate this understanding of glory, prompting us to consider what true glory entails in the Christian sense and how we might obtain it ourselves. First, although Isaiah (49:1-6) uses weapons as imagery, he is not discussing a physical battle but rather his willingness to serve God. Speaking to Isaiah, God says, “You are my servant… through whom I show my glory.” In this paragraph, the notion of glory remains with God, but Isaiah is able to partake in this glory as God’s servant. Later, it is Isaiah who has been “made glorious in the sight of the LORD.” This glory is God’s recompense for Isaiah’s diligent efforts in service of His divine will. In this way, Isaiah demonstrates that we can achieve glory of our own by faithfully serving God.

The Gospel reading (John 13:21-33, 36-38) takes this conception of glory a step further. It is the Last Supper, and Judas has just retreated after Jesus exposed him as his betrayer. In this moment, as Jesus enters the first stages of his Passion, he declares to his apostles, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.” Thus, it is through the acceptance of his imminent suffering, precipitated by Judas’s betrayal, that Jesus is glorified. Here, Jesus shows us that obtaining glory in ourselves—by humbly fulfilling God’s will in our lives—ultimately glorifies God. For me, this reading dovetails with the priest’s exhortation to glorify the Lord by our lives as we depart from Mass.

Interestingly, “made glorious” in Isaiah’s passage is derived from the Hebrew word kabed, which means both “to achieve honor” and “to be heavy” (qBible.com). This idea of weight makes perfect sense given our understanding of glory as accepting the weight of our responsibilities as followers of Christ. In this context, what greater weight than that of the cross that Jesus carried, and what greater glory than that which he achieved through his death and resurrection? As we journey through Holy Week and enter into the Paschal Triduum, let us heed the call to embrace divine glory in all its fullness. May we, like Christ, be willing to bear the weight of our crosses, trusting in the promise of God’s mercy.